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Shocking Worker Deaths at Saudi Arabia's Neom Project

Saudi Arabia is embarking on the "Neom City project", which aims to create an innovative urban area in the country. Workers are forced to work gruelling hours far beyond legal limits to construct the flagship project, many have not been paid for months and are being mistreated. 21000 migrant workers have died since 2016. ITV’s documentary “The Kingdom Naked: Inside Saudi Arabia” provides striking insights into this situation.


Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia is embarking on many ambitious projects within the framework of Vision 2030. The most notable of these projects is the Neom City project, which aims to create an innovative urban area in the country.


Death of 21 Thousand Workers

The documentary team highlighted the tragedies that have occurred during the implementation of Saudi Vision 2030, revealing that more than 21.000 workers have died in just eight years. This statistic highlights the dangerous working conditions and violations of workers’ rights in the country. Many workers say they feel like “trapped slaves”, while their families are also grieving.


Working Conditions and Violations

The documentary details how workers are exploited under harsh working conditions. One worker says he works 16-hour days on The Line skyscraper project, and more than 84 hours a week. Saudi law limits the working week to 60 hours, but it appears that this law is not strictly enforced. Workers say they have little time to rest and live in constant anxiety. On top of the long shifts, workers told an undercover reporter that they must take an unpaid, three-hour bus commute to get to the desert site and back which leaves them with around four hours to sleep.


Missing Workers and Human Rights Violations

The documentary also revealed that the rate of disappearance of migrant workers working in construction is quite high. There are claims that 100 migrant workers have disappeared in Saudi Arabia under the NEOM project. In addition, the death statistics of workers from India, Bangladesh and Nepal are also noteworthy. Nepal's Foreign Employment Board states that the deaths of more than 650 Nepali workers have still not been explained.


Workers have been systematically subjected to ill-treatment and dangerous exploitation. Working hours are far above international standards, which is widespread throughout Saudi Arabia.


Workers have not been paid for months

The documentary documents how many workers have not been paid for months and are being mistreated. Some say they have not been paid for 10 months and others have no food. Another issue highlighted is that they are not allowed to leave the Kingdom to reach their families.


Scope of Neom Project

Neom is an urban area project being built by Saudi Arabia in Tabuk Province. Launched in 2017 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the project is located at the northern tip of the Red Sea, east of Egypt, across the Gulf of Aqaba and south of Jordan. The total planned area of ​​Neom is 26.500 square kilometers and the project consists of several areas, including a giant industrial complex, a global trade center and tourist resorts.


Future of the Project and Criticisms

Saudi Arabia hopes to have most of the Neom project completed by 2039. However, experts have frequently questioned the estimated cost of the project, which is expected to exceed $1,5 trillion. There are also serious concerns about environmental and human rights violations. The documentary highlights the inhumane conditions that migrant workers are subjected to to make these projects happen, and that this is unacceptable.


The Neom project is one of the most ambitious and controversial projects in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. However, the project is overshadowed by serious issues such as worker deaths and human rights violations. The ITV documentary has helped bring this situation to greater visibility and encouraged the international community to take action. Questioning how cheap human life is in Saudi Arabia’s efforts to achieve its vision should be an important lesson for future projects.


The reality is that workers all over Saudi Arabia are subject to deeply abusive and dangerous exploitation. Migrant workers make up three quarters of the workforce and are critical for the Vision 2030 projects.


NEOM Project. Illustration by Visualhouse

Committee secretary

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Espen Løken

Espen Løken has been secretary for the prize committee since the prize was established in 2010. He is international advisor in the union "Styrke", responsible for the Arthur Svensson prize. 

Forbundet Styrke

Torggata 15, 0181 Oslo

espen.loken@styrke.no

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